Three and In

14 February 2016

Chris Groves

DEREK ADAMS was able to make three changes for Argyle’s 3-0 win over Mansfield Town, with a trio of recalled players contributing to a comfortable victory.

In an excellent win, courtesy of a brace from Ryan Brunt and a well-taken goal from Gregg Wylde, Graham Carey started his first game since the end of November, but looked at his usual creative, cultured best.

“Graham is very good on the ball,” said Derek. “He’s been out for about 10 or 11 weeks now, and he’s been able to get himself back fit.

“He looks to play forward, and with the that talent we have in the team, we need to have forward passes. He plays them into good areas. He’ll take the ball all over the pitch, and you could see today that he isn’t 100%, but he controlled large spells in the game.

“He’s an important player, and like everybody in this squad, they’re going to be showing that importance towards the end of the season.”

Jordon Forster also came into the side at right back to make his Argyle debut, slotting in quickly and looking an assured, powerful option for Adams.

“He’s 22 years of age but he’s strong, “said Derek, “he’s competitive, he’s good on the ball, he’ll win his headers and he’ll win his tackles.

“I think Graham Carey, himself and Ryan Brunt coming back into the side was good. Obviously [Kelvin] Mellor, Reuben Reid and Jake Jervis will be disappointed, but that’s the way things happen. They’ll come back into the side, no doubt, during the season, and do well for us.”

Indeed, all three changes Adams made proved to be significant, positive ones, with the likes of Reid, Mellor and Jervis having to occupy a slot on the bench. The boss fully expects his substitutes to continue making valuable contributions to Argyle’s season, after a positive January transfer window gave Derek further options at his disposal.

“I think that you’ve got to make decisions,” said Adams. “We’ve got a strong squad, and we’ve got players who have moved out of the side today and have done really well for us this season. Other players have come in, and it’s up to [them to] have competition for places.

“We’ve got that, because we’ve been able to manoeuvre in the transfer window in a positive fashion, and we’ve got competition for places now. That’s something that I’d hope to have at the start of the season. Sometimes you can’t get that because your hands are tied, and now I’ve been able to manoeuvre in the transfer window, where we’ve been able to get competition for places. It’s important that you have that between now and the end of the season.”